


Armor

by forgetme



Category: Naruto
Genre: Group Soul Bond, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Rating May Change, Soul Bond, Threesome, Threesome - M/M/M, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-05-24 23:36:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6171241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgetme/pseuds/forgetme





	1. Chapter 1

Once in a while, Yamato thought, it was nice to get out of Konoha for a bit. He was not usually a fan of diplomatic missions, but he’d spent far too much time trapped in a hospital room, undergoing test after test, after the war. Definitely his least favorite things in the world: needles and test tubes, paper-thin hospital gowns and cold metal tables.

He preferred this.

_This_ was a festively decorated town hall filled with so called important people milling about in their fancy clothes, chatting and chuckling over expensive drinks. Yamato was standing next to the Rokudaime Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, who, for the occasion, was actually wearing his robes and headgear instead of his usual uniform. Or maybe not instead of. For all Yamato knew, Kakashi was wearing the uniform under the robes, ready to throw them off and throw himself into battle.

Yamato took a sip from his glass. The alcohol burned his throat on the way down, but he liked the way it warmed his stomach. He shouldn’t drink too much, he knew, since he was on duty. However, drinking nothing at all would surely make him suspicious to some people. There were always _some_ people. As an Anbu bodyguard you walked a fine line.

Yamato was dressed in a councilor’s robes. While his true mission was protecting the Hokage, everyone else was led to believe that he was one of Hatake Kakashi’s trusted advisors. A war veteran who had retired from active duty. Hence the outfit, which, needless to say, wasn’t to his taste. His face felt naked and exposed without his hitai ate.

In the whole room, there was only one war veteran who really was retired: Maito Gai,  currently engaged in conversation with a young woman wearing an elegant kimono. Kakashi was to Gai’s right, talking to the woman’s husband, the owner of most of what little fertile land there was on the island. And Yamato stood next to Kakashi, drinking and smiling politely whenever the conversation called for it. Truth be told, he wasn’t really involved in the talking. He listened, of course, but he was far more interested in everything else that was going on around them.

While Kakashi was making polite small talk, Gai was loud, speaking animatedly, gesturing wildly and drawing the attention of everyone who happened to be near them. Gai-san was distracting and more than once Yamato caught himself shooting a glance in his direction. Because he’d insisted, Gai-san was wearing his jounin uniform, the green abomination, complete with vest and one orange legwarmer. His right leg was still in a cast - as it would be, Kakashi had told Yamato, for the foreseeable future, but that had not kept Gai from accompanying them in his wheelchair.

Why Kakashi had allowed it, Yamato could not have said. Though perhaps it was simply because the mission was as low risk as a diplomatic mission could possibly be and was therefore a great opportunity to make Gai-san to feel useful despite his injury without jeopardizing his health.

As for the mission, it seemed like a simple and straightforward matter. The Rokudaime Hokage had been invited to Kuzushima village for trade negotiations. The village was located on a small island and mostly cut off from the rest of the world. It had no military force or political power to speak of. They needed Konoha; Konoha did not need them. This was obvious to everyone involved.

_They’d be fools to try anything,_ Kakashi-senpai had said back on the ship. _Still, better safe than sorry._

Over the years, this had become their rule. Hatake Kakashi, who always promised to bring his squad members back alive from every mission, was a careful man. A lot of the things Yamato knew, he had learned from his senpai.

Peals of laughter came from the left. Yamato looked over and saw the woman covering her mouth with one hand, the fine embroidery on her wide sleeve catching the light, rippling as she shook with laughter. Gai-san was beaming triumphantly.

“You are something else,” she said and leaned forward to touch Gai-san’s shoulder.  
Yamato sighed. He felt a pang of annoyance, the first hint of a headache somewhere behind his temples. As much as he respected Gai-san as a shinobi, his eccentric personality was often too much for Yamato, who liked the quiet, and hated the way Gai always seemed to barge in whenever he was talking to his senpai.

Kakashi, he realized, was looking at Gai too, the corners of his eyes crinkling with what might have been a smile.

“Excuse me?” All three of them looked up. One of the village elders was approaching. He had a vague smile on his face, a shifty smile, Yamato thought, and unconsciously adjusted his stance. The old man made a beeline for Kakashi-senpai, ignoring both Yamato and Gai. “Rokudaime-sama?”

Up close, he looked a little sweaty, a shiny forehead under neatly parted grey hair and large, pleading eyes. Yamato only vaguely remembered him from their initial meeting. During those talks, the old man had been quiet, leaving the discussion to the younger men at the table. He was, Yamato estimated, in his late sixties. Of sound mind but not in great shape physically. His shoulders slightly stooped, he walked with a plain wooden cane. Yamato couldn't detect any obvious threat.

“Shitano-san wasn’t it?” The expression on Kakashi’s face hadn’t changed, but there was a sharpness to his eyes now that hadn’t been there before.

“I’m honored that you remember my name, Hokage-sama,” Shitano said, bowing awkwardly. “If you would excuse us,” he said, turning to the landowner and his wife. “There is something I would like to discuss with the Hokage.”

“Of course, Shitano-sama!” The two bowed as well and retreated a little too hastily for Yamato’s taste. He didn’t need to look at his senpai to know that they were thinking the same thing. This felt off.

“What is it you want to discuss?” Kakashi asked, his tone the epitome of friendly.  
“Oh…” Shitano’s gaze fell first on Yamato, then slid over to Gai. It was a meaningful look, one that carried a very clear message, namely that he would like them to leave, but when they and Kakashi pointedly ignored it, Shitano turned his attention back to the Hokage.

“First of all, I cannot tell you how happy you have made me. That someone like the great sixth Hokage Hatake Kakashi would even bother to come to such a small, insignificant place like this! We are truly honored.”

“Thank you,” Kakashi-senpai replied. “I’m expecting great things to come of this. A trade agreement and an alliance that will benefit both our villages. I am not here out of charity; I believe that there is much Kuzushima can do for Konoha.”

The old man nodded, his watery eyes brimming with an emotion Yamato couldn’t quite read. “Your words touch me deeply, Hokage-sama. You really are an exceptional man.” He took a deep breath and slid his hand into his pocket. Yamato tensed, readying himself.

“That’s why I want to give you this as a token of my eternal gratitude.” Shitano took out a small wooden box about the size of his hand. It was plain, polished oak and he opened it and took out a dark blue gem. They all watched in silence as Shitano put away the box. He took the gem in both hands and offered it to Kakashi.

_Why not leave it in the box,_ Yamato wondered abstractly.

Kakashi made no move to take the gem from the old man. “This is incredibly generous, but I can’t accept your present. We came here to negotiate; personal gifts are not--”

“Hokage-sama, please,” Shitano interrupted, his voice plaintive. “We both know my village doesn’t have much wealth, not in terms of material goods. This. This is a token of our loyalty. Please don’t reject it.”

He looked pathetic, a trembling old man feebly offering what little he had, holding the gem in his age-spotted hands. Yamato was still tense; something about this didn’t feel right. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kakashi move, saw him reach for the gem with something like grudging resignation.

It was when his senpai’s fingertips were about to touch the gem that Yamato felt it, a jolt of chakra, burning with malicious intensity, coming from the thing in Shitano’s hands. He heard Gai-san shout, but he was already moving, shoving himself between Kakashi and the old man, trying to get the gem away from Kakashi. Gai came from the other side, lunging out of his wheelchair, knocking into them, Yamato and Kakashi, their fingers tangled around that pulsing energy.

Pain pried Yamato’s skull open, a blinding white heat filling his mind.

The last thing he saw was Kakashi falling; his last thought: _Forgive me. I've failed you, Senpai._


	2. Chapter 2

_Listen to me, my son, always trust your gut!_ The voice floated through Yamato’s mind like a distant memory, except that he couldn’t remember to whom it belonged. _My son?_ Who would ever call him that?

Yamato groaned; his head hurt, a pulsing pain that rose and fell in waves. Bright spots were dancing behind his closed eyelids and when his hand found his forehead, it was cold and clammy.

“Yamato-san?” Shizune-san’s voice pierced his brain, making him groan again. “He’s regaining consciousness,” she said just as he managed to open his eyes. He had to blink against the blurriness, the merciless brightness of the lights, until Shizune’s face swam into focus. Without hesitation she put two fingers on his neck, below his jaw, to take his pulse and hold him down at the same time.

“The Hokage?” he croaked, struggling to sit up.

“He’s alive and stable but unconscious. Just like you were a minute ago.”

“I have to--”

She tsked and put her hands on his shoulders to push him back down onto the mattress.

“See for yourself.” With that she stepped aside, allowing him to look past her, at the bed on the other side of the room, in which, flanked by two Anbu - one at the head of the bed and one at its foot - Hatake Kakashi lay. He was even paler than usual and his eyes were closed, but Yamato could just make out the slow regular movement of his chest rising and falling underneath the blanket.

For a moment he was almost overwhelmed by relief so powerful it might have knocked him to his knees had he been standing up. As it was, Yamato only breathed in deeply and sank into the pillows. Then, instantly, he tensed up again as the rest of the memories of the attack came to him and he realized that with Kakashi-senpai out of commission, he was the highest-ranking Konoha shinobi in the area. Leadership fell to him.

“Where is Shitano?” he asked.

“We have captured him. He’s currently locked up in a cabin on the lower deck.”

“How long was I unconscious?”

“For about ten hours. I had all three of you put in the same cabin so I could keep an eye on you. Tako and Masu over there helped.”

“Three? Gai-san too?” Finally, Yamato managed to sit up. Shizune helped him, slipping an arm around his shoulders. With her support, he straightened. Behind Kakashi’s bed, he could see now, was another, narrower bunk close to the wall. Gai-san was lying there, as inert as Kakashi. Now the pieces of information Yamato had gotten were starting to form a coherent picture. “Wait,” he said, looking around the room, the _cabin_ , he realized, “we’re on the ship again?”

“Yes, we’re on the way back to Konoha. I had Ayu contact headquarters. Sai flew in. He’s waiting on deck in case anyone of you needs transport to the hospital. As for Shitano, Ayu is still down there, she has been interrogating him ever since we left. He’s claiming he had no idea there was anything wrong with that gem.”

“Where is that thing now?” Yamato asked, the grim memory of the incident resurfacing. He should have used the mokuton instead of touching it. But that would have taken a second longer - a second he didn’t have at the time.

“You don’t remember? It exploded into a thousand pieces when you touched it. We’re lucky none of you caught any shrapnel.” She shook her head. “But we collected as many fragments as we could find, of course. Though I’m afraid we won’t be able to find out more about it until we’re back home.”

Yamato brushed the cold sweat off his forehead. For all he had done wrong, at least he had people he could rely on.

He mustered a wan smile for her. “Shizune-san, it seems you’ve thought of everything.”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” she said wryly. In her formal dark blue kimono - unadorned apart from the Konoha leaf symbol stitched in silver thread on her collar - Shizune looked absolutely stunning, Yamato couldn’t help thinking.

He blushed, feeling out of his depths, disarmed by her sly smile. “I’m not! I just-- I shamefully let myself get knocked out when I was supposed to protect the Hokage. There really is no excuse. I’ve failed.”

She sighed. “It’s not like we were able to prevent it either. I’m just glad you woke up; it gives me hope for the other two. Frankly, I was worried.”

Yamato looked over at Kakashi again. The sight of his senpai lying there almost motionlessly made his chest feel tight with dread. This was his mistake. He pushed the blanket away and swung his legs out of bed, setting his bare feet firmly on the floor. It was time he made himself useful.

“How long till we reach our home port?” he asked.

“At least another twenty hours.”

“I want to speak to Shitano.” Yamato looked around, his robes were draped over a chair in the corner, leaving him in his dark Anbu pants and sleeveless top. Shizune gave him some space and he slowly got up. His knees still felt a little weak, but he could walk, so he made his way over to the chair to get his sandals. The floor was icy beneath the soles of his bare feet. “What was the situation on the island when you left?”

“People were upset, maybe even in shock. Our first priority was getting you medical treatment, the second was capturing Shitano. The others did not oppose us and Shitano came without a fight. I think they are terrified of retaliation.” _They should be_ , Yamato thought without malice. He was angry at Shitano, but war was the last thing he wanted; revenge had never been something he craved. It was a destructive thing that sucked the life out of whatever it touched.

As though she had read his mind, Shizune added softly, “For what it’s worth, it didn’t seem like they had any idea what was going on.”

“Can you stay here and look after them? I really need to go down there.” He wanted to face Shitano and get the truth from him as fast as possible. Kakashi-senpai would later decide what was to become of the old man, but Yamato needed things to be cleared up before his senpai woke. This was his duty.

“Of course.” Shizune walked with him to the door of the cabin. He could feel the eyes of the Anbu guards on him as put his hand on the door handle. Those two stood in absolute silence, like statues, completely unshakable. Although it had been a long time for him, Yamato still remembered being on assignments like this one when he’d been in their place, focused on the task at hand and nothing else.

Strangely, in that moment, that sentence drifted through his mind again, _Listen to me, my son, always trust your gut!_

Frowning, Yamato pulled the door open. No one had ever said anything like that to him, so why would he be thinking about it?

“Gai-senpai?” Shizune had turned around and walked briskly back to Gai-san’s bed. There was a groan as Gai-san began to stir. All of a sudden, Yamato felt the first hint of nausea in the pit of his stomach. He was torn now, between moving forward and turning back. His sense of duty was battling the urge to make sure Gai was alright, the faint hope that Kakashi-senpai too would wake up soon and call for him.

He shook his head. Shizune-san was the medical ninja, compared to her he was useless here. Trying to shed some light on that Shitano character, his plan and the nature of the attack while the other two recovered would be more useful. It was, he thought, what his senpai would want him to do.

“I’m going,” he said and when she gave him a brisk nod of confirmation as her hands were already busy checking Gai-san’s vitals, he walked out the door into the ship’s narrow hallway and his heart seized up, a pulse of chakra ripping through him. Yamato doubled over, clutching at his chest. It felt like there were ropes around his upper body, tightening like a noose. Static burst into his field of vision, a million ants crawling over his eyeballs; he made a noise, a choked gasp and would have fallen to his knees had it not been for the arms catching him and dragging him back into the room. “Yamato-taichou!” A shadow flitted past them and the door was slammed shut from outside.

“What’s going on?!” .

Just as his vision cleared and Yamato could breathe again, a jolt of pain shot up his right leg, from the sole of his foot to his knee as if he had stepped into fire.

“Gai-senpai, don’t try to stand up,” Shizune barked. “Masu, take Yamato-san back to his bed.”

“It’s okay,” Yamato protested. His body was settling down; the pain was receding, leaving only a feeling of unsteadiness, a vague nausea like motion sickness. There was no point in fighting the broad shouldered Anbu though. Masu gently pushed him down on the bed and Yamato caught Gai’s eye from across the room. Gai-san was sitting up just like him, a worried frown on his face. They looked at each other. Gai’s dark eyes boring into him as Shizune crouched next to his bed and touched his arm, putting her fingertips on a chakra point.

“I don’t think we’re being attacked. We’re at sea. Still, Tako will check with Sai, Ayu and the crew,” she said. “Are you in any pain right now?”

“No.”

The pain in Yamato’s leg had subsided to a distant throb, but he could feel her feel him out, the strange sensation of her trying to get a read on his chakra, like a thread was winding its way into his bloodstream.

Gai-san pulled a face. “I should go out there and support our comrades! Maybe the culprit is that Shitaro person! He was pretty suspicious!”

“He wasn’t just suspicious; he actually knocked us out.” The last thing Yamato needed now was Gai-san being his usual obtuse self.

“That’s not important right now,” Shizune said absent-mindedly. Her hand slid higher on Yamato’s arm, almost up to his elbow. He didn’t like the troubled expression on her face. Without looking over at Gai-san, she said sharply, “Senpai, could you please stay where you are?”

At least Gai had the decency to look guilty. Now that Shizune had scolded him, he stopped inching towards the foot of his bed and the door. Instead, he frowned at Kakashi, who through all that had happened hadn’t so much as twitched. As always, half of his face was covered by his mask, what little was visible between the fabric and the strands of silver hair looked deceptively peaceful.

“Something is wrong with you. Your chakra system feels...strange.” Shizune’s hesitant tone brought Yamato’s attention back to her. “This isn’t exactly my field, but we’ll have to examine you once we get back to the village. All three of you.”

As if he’d heard her words, Kakashi-senpai chose this moment to draw in a deep breath. His eyelids began to flutter.


	3. Chapter 3

It took ten minutes to fill Kakashi in. Then Tako came back to report that no enemies had been found on the ship. The journey would proceed unhindered, but if Hokage-sama wanted, he could fly back to Konoha with Sai-kun who was still up on deck, waiting for orders.

Shizune put her foot down. She folded her arms across her chest and told them in a certain tone that her advice would be the Hokage stay where he was and use the remaining time on the ship to rest. She didn’t know what exactly was going on with them, but after having given Gai-san and Kakashi-senpai the same brief examination, she was sure that all three of them had been affected by Shitano’s strange gem in some way.

“I appreciate your concern, Shizune, but I need to talk to Shitano right now,” Kakashi said. Yamato had watched him put on his robes again earlier. He was determined; it was obvious and that determination spread to Yamato as well.

“I’m coming with you,” he said, pushing himself to his feet.

Gai-san had been somewhat subdued during the last couple of minutes, due to what Yamato believed to be an onslaught of seasickness. He himself was feeling it a little bit, which was quite unusual. Maybe the attack really had weakened him because his stomach was queasy and his legs slightly less steady than they should be. Anyway, Gai-san looked from Kakashi-senpai to Yamato and his jaw set. “I’m coming too!” he announced, only to immediately clamp one hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up.

Shizune sighed. “And what would be point of that? Shitano will just tell you what he told Ayu,” she said. “In Konoha we have the whole interrogation squad. Whatever secrets he has, he won’t be able to keep them from Ibiki and Aoba.”

“I want to know what he was hoping to accomplish with this stunt he pulled.” There was anger in Kakashi’s voice and hearing it incensed Yamato as well. “His village needs our support. How could he take this risk? As an elder whose duty is to protect the people of his village?”

“Just thinking about it is pissing me off! I should beat some sense into him with these righteous fists of mine!” Gai-san waved one of said fists in the air as he spoke, making Yamato roll his eyes although he could understand the sentiment.

“We all have questions, I think,” he said. Some part of him dreaded trying to walk out the door after what had happened the last time. Truth be told, he was feeling a little sick already, but duty was duty. There was no way around it.

They walked to the door together, Kakashi and Yamato side by side, pausing when Yamato felt a strange twinge in his right leg. That gave Gai enough time to struggle into his wheelchair and catch up to them.

Bracing himself, Yamato took the first step out of the cabin into the hallway.

* * *

Shitano was a mess; the old man was cowering in a corner of the sparsely furnished cabin that served as his cell. Yamanaka Ayu, the young Anbu serving as an interrogator, greeted them and gave them a quick update. She didn’t have much to tell them. He still denied everything.

She brushed a hand through her short blond hair and bowed. “Hokage-sama, I’m leaving this to you,” she said before slipping out of the room. She’d join Masu and Tako, who were now keeping watch in front of the impromptu cell.

* * *

What happened in there, he later told Shizune and Sai, was unprecedented for him. He couldn’t explain it. Neither could Kakashi-senpai and Gai-san. They’d been angry, furious really. All three of them. It was as though they acted as catalysts for each other. By the time he realized what was happening, Yamato had Shitano by the throat. He wasn’t thinking, not about strategy or justice or anything. He would have killed the whimpering man if it hadn’t been for the memory flashing before his eyes.

* * *

 He is in a forest, rays of sunlight breaking through the thick canopy, painting golden flecks of light on the jounin vest of the man before him. He is looking very serious, this man whose long silver hair falls into his dark eyes, who is frowning at Yamato as Yamato reaches up with his small pale hands for the brown thing in the man’s arms. The man goes down on one knee so Yamato can touch it, can take it from the man. Soft fur against the palms of his hands, like silk, only warm and alive. The rabbit’s ears are flattened to its body; it trembles in his arms. He can feel the frantic pounding of its tiny heart as he slips one hand into his weapon pouch.

“Do you know how to do it?” asks the man. There is a sadness in his eyes that unsettles Yamato. His academy teachers never look sad when they give lessons.

“Of course,” he replies without hesitation. Unconsciously, he’s started petting the silky fur. He stops. The kunai in his right hand is light and sharp. It is the perfect tool for the task at hand. Just like him.

“It has to be quick and clean,” the man, his father, says, “you don’t scare them; you don’t make them suffer. Do you understand, Kakashi?”

“Yes.” There it is, the tiniest nod, the light warming his insides. Easily, the kunai slips into the fur, making no sound. Warm blood runs over his hand and the trembling stops.

The hand roughly tousling his hair, the smell of forest and the words, _well done,_ are all he ever needed.

* * *

“Hatake Sakumo,” Gai-san said, “I remembered him teaching me” With a guilty glance at Kakashi Gai corrected himself, “- teaching you--”

A deafening silence ruled the room now. Kakashi-senpai was staring at Gai and Yamato followed his gaze, his heart thudding in his chest like the rabbit’s had.

“I saw the same thing,” he said softly. “It was your memory, Senpai?”

They all knew the answer to this question.


	4. Chapter 4

“I have never seen anything like this before,” said Hyuuga Hari as she peered at them with her Byakugan. She leaned close to Gai-san, bringing her nose almost down to his. Gai cocked his head at her and smiled. She frowned. “This is one chakra system shared by three people. It shouldn’t be possible.”

Yamato shifted. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded in front of his chest. Kakashi-senpai was an arms length away, half-sitting on an examination table. They exchanged a glance.

Hyuuga Hari picked up a clipboard from her desk in the corner and started taking notes. Shizune cleared her throat. As their medic and Kakashi’s personal assistant, she’d insisted on accompanying to the Anbu labs. “And that explains their symptoms?” she asked.

Hari looked up briefly. “Yes, I think it would.”

This didn’t make sense. Yamato looked from Kakashi to Gai. The expressions on their faces were as nonplussed as he imagined his to be. He spoke up tentatively, putting his thoughts into words. “Saying we share one chakra system is like saying we share one bloodstream. If that is the case, how are we still alive? ”

“That’s why I said it shouldn’t be possible. Normally, if your chakra pathways are damaged to the point where chakra leaves your body in large quantities - or even small ones if it happens over an extended period of time - you’ll experience the typical symptoms of chakra loss - fatigue, dizziness, nausea, you know, and if you lose too much, you’ll die. But you’re not losing chakra. Your chakra pathways are intact.”

“So chakra isn’t leaving their bodies. Well, if it had been, I would have felt it. We all would have.” Shizune stepped over to Hari and looked over the scientist’s shoulder at the notes on the clipboard.

“It isn’t, but it’s still connected.” Hari frowned again, clearly trying to puzzle this out.

“Through physical proximity,” Shizune said, “and if they’re separated…”

“The system collapses!” It was a eureka moment to the Hyuuga, whose eyes lit up with realization. “They literally can’t live without each other!”

That would explain the pain Yamato had felt when he’d tried to leave the cabin alone and why he didn’t have the same problem when Kakashi-senpai and Gai-san had been with him. He nodded silently, a grim sense of dread settling in his stomach.

“To do this to us, whatever jutsu was sealed into this gem must have been incredibly powerful. It could only have been a bloodline limit. Though, I've never heard of any clan possessing an ability like this,” Kakashi said. “Either way, Shitano couldn’t have done this alone. He's a civilian with no chakra to speak of.” A bitter note had entered his voice. Yamato understood exactly where it was coming from. If this was a larger conspiracy, there would have to be severe consequences.

“So?” Gai-san asked. “Do we go back to Kuzushima, find his accomplices and beat them up for the cure?” For someone who had been struggling with seasickness from the moment they’d set foot on the ship, Gai was surprisingly eager to do it all over again. Yamato for his part had been relieved when they got to land and he didn’t have to deal with what he now realized had been Gai’s nausea.

Kakashi replied before Yamato could, much to his relief. “No, Shitano is being interrogated as we speak. He won’t be able to keep anything from Aoba. Hopefully, the interrogation squad will have some answers for us by tomorrow. Then we’ll decide how to proceed.”

“You want to wait? Sitting idly by, twiddling our thumbs? Rival, we should take charge and spring into action!”

Kakashi sighed. “Aren’t those just empty words, Gai? Running around like headless chickens for the sake of it is not a good plan.”

“Considering the compromised state we’re in, we can’t be too careful,” Yamato added.

Hari put down her clipboard. She forced her narrow lips into a crooked smile and said brightly, “Well, as long as you stay together you should be alright. I think.” Her voice was that of someone declaring the glass half full. It didn’t last long, however, after a second, she deflated. “But you have a point, Yamato-san. We don’t really know anything about this yet. And I'm worried about the whole emotional component you mentioned.”

“In my opinion, you should find a safe place and wait until tomorrow at least. If you want me to, Hokage-sama, I will contact your esteemed predecessor and ask for her advice.” She spoke earnestly, but Yamato thought he could see a hint of pity in her eyes.

“Thank you. It’s a little early for such extreme measures though, Shizune. I’m afraid if I interrupt another one of my _esteemed predecessor’s_ vacations, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Shizune ducked her head. To hide a smile, Yamato suspected. “You’ll have your guards with you. I’ll make sure a medic is on duty tonight in case anything else happens. Hari-san, thank you and please do your best to find out more about this condition.” She bowed. “Hokage-sama, Yamato-san, Gai-senpai. Please try to get some rest.”

* * *

Their new set of bodyguards following them in the shadows, Yamato walked out into the streets with Kakashi and Gai. In the soft glow of the sinking sun Konoha was looking as peaceful as ever, the trees resplendent in the golden light.

“We’ll spend the night at my new place,” Kakashi-senpai said, “since it’s closest to the village center.”

 _And since it’s what's most convenient for you,_ Yamato added silently. He swallowed the words and the sigh. His senpai was Hokage now, no point in picking fights he couldn’t win.

“Unless, of course you mind?” _That_ look was directed at him, Kakashi-senpai’s sly look, one silver eyebrow raised and a smirk hidden under the mask. Gai-san too was shooting him a curious glance.

Yamato shrugged, giving in without a fight. “It makes sense.”

“I guess we should go pick up some of your stuff on our way there. Sleeping bags, toothbrushes…” Kakashi walked with his hands in his pockets. He’d left the robes and hat on the ship, changing back into his jounin blues as soon as he had woken up. The only sign of his status were the stitching on the back of his armored vest and the red band around his biceps. Of course, people still recognized him. Even before becoming Hokage, the Son of the White Fang had been famous for his skill and intellect. Now he was a living legend, and so, come to think of it, was Gai-san.

This time Yamato didn’t suppress the sigh. He was feeling old.

As they walked in silence, each of them probably lost in his own thoughts, Yamato idly kept an eye out for the Hokage’s Anbu guards. He made a game of it, pinpointing their locations.

There, on the roof of the tofu shop, was “Kotsume”, ducking behind the shop sign. Yamato awarded himself another point for catching a glimpse of “Asupu”, the medic, as he flitted from one balcony to the next. Finding “Kanari” actually took some effort, she slipped from sight with practised ease; he felt her chakra when he reached out, a playful flame that flared only because she allowed it. “Wani” seemed to know what Yamato was up to and took it as a challenge. A wistful smile stole onto Yamato’s lips as he walked, a little behind Kakashi and Gai now, remembering the days when he had been in Anbu on Hokage detail. During peacetime, it was considered something of a cushy job.

Secretly, Yamato had sometimes played this game with Sandaime-sama, had tried to make the Hokage lose track of his whereabouts, just to see if he could. There was one afternoon, the one time Yamato thought he had succeeded. The old man had been enjoying a quiet day, he’d seemed absent-minded, visiting the dango shop, chatting with people, his Anbu following dutifully. Young Kinoe had changed position frequently, hiding his chakra signature and watching the Hokage’s every move. He’d been quietly patting himself on the back for achieving his goal when seemingly out of nowhere, Sandaime-sama tapped him on the shoulder to offer him a stick of dango. Needless to say, the squad teased him about it for years.

“The Professor always had a sense of humor,” Senpai said directly into his ear, his voice and the sudden proximity making Yamato flinch. He had been lost in thought, he realized, and now whatever had happened with Kakashi’s memory of his father had happened once more. Gai-san too was looking at him with undisguised curiosity.

“You had _fun_ in Anbu,” Gai said, his brow creasing.

_You are not suited for Anbu._

_You lack it._

_What?_

_Darkness._

Yamato blinked. Sandaime and Danzou. Wisps of memory, there and gone in a split second.

_It’s not about what’s good for me! It’s about what’s best for Kakashi!_

Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks. “Gai?” he said, his voice faint, full of question. His eyes were wide with shock and Yamato felt a sting in his chest but couldn’t pinpoint its source. “You--?”

Gai didn’t waste a second. He broke into awkward laughter and Yamato found a finger pointing at his chest. “Ah, what was that? What weird things you’re thinking about Yamato-kun!” Strangely, Yamato felt himself blush, his cheeks turning pink like Gai’s.

“Uh…” Was he supposed to blow Gai-san’s flimsy cover? Yamato shook his head at the absurdity of the situation.

“Let’s forget about it,” Kakashi interrupted. “We won’t have much privacy tonight, but hopefully this will be resolved soon, so let’s not say or do things we might regret. Understood?”

Gai nodded without meeting anyone’s eyes. “Yeah,” he said.

“Understood.” It was easy enough to say the word, only a little harder to shake off the uncomfortable feelings and keep walking.


	5. Chapter 5

They went to Yamato’s place first because it was furthest from the village center. Gai and Kakashi lived close together, both of them renting not far from the Hokage Residence. Unlike them Yamato owned his home. He’d bought it from the money he earned in Anbu, had made the down payment when he was still a teenager and had paid it off over the years. Kakashi used to tease him about it, telling him that if he wanted a house this much, he could always just make one himself. But it was different when he pulled up the wood from the ground with his own hands, it didn’t feel permanent. And he wanted permanent; he wanted to have something that was part of the village. When Pain destroyed it, Yamato had had it rebuilt, just the way it had been.

Aware of the other two waiting a few steps behind him, Yamato unlocked his front door and grabbed the emergency mission pack he always kept next to the shoe rack in the entrance hall. He could sense Gai-san’s curious glances towards the inside of his house. “Yamato-kun, you have a nice place here!” Gai-san called and when Yamato turned around, there was a thumbs-up waiting for him.

“Thank you.” He nodded, slinging the heavy backpack over his shoulder. Next was Gai-san’s apartment.

* * *

 

It wasn’t what Yamato had expected, but that might have been simply because Gai-san wasn’t quite done moving in yet. His place was small and crammed with boxes, half unpacked. Since there was no mission-ready backpack, they actually had to follow him in. The apartment was on the ground floor. It had wide doorways and no stairs, making it obvious why Gai had moved here. The thought, however, made Yamato uncomfortable. It was that hint of pity snaking through his emotions; he tried to suppress it, reminding himself of what he’d been told about Gai-san’s last fight, but there was this treacherous thought that wouldn’t go away. I’d hate having to live like this.

“Do you need any help?” Kakashi asked, his voice much closer than Yamato had expected. He’d walked up and was standing right next to him, hands in his pockets, an expression of mild interest on his face.

“No,” Gai called back over his shoulder, he wheeled himself into a room at the end of the hallway and Yamato reluctantly followed, feeling the pull of his chakra, their chakra, whatever it was.

It was Gai-san’s bedroom and it was sparse. One bed by the wall, a single cot. The walls were painted a dark forest green, no decorations. A pair of giant dumbbells lay in the corner, a set of crutches leaned against the wall next to the bed. Gai-san was half inside the closet, his upper body hidden from sight by the open closet door. He was rummaging around, tossing random items on the bed.

“It’s only for one night,” Kakashi said. He had found a spot on the wall to slouch against. His arms folded across his chest, he watched Gai turn his wheelchair around and start stuffing things into an empty backpack.

“It never hurts to be prepared, Rival! You should know that by now!”

“In this case I’d rather not be. We’re going to Anbu headquarters first thing tomorrow morning to get this fixed.”

There was a chill in the air, no, not in the air, in Kakashi. Yamato shot him a glance, feeling the wall go up between them. Kakashi was trying to keep them out, which, Yamato thought, was understandable. An uncomfortable silence hung in the room. It was like a bad smell in the air. Even Gai-san had gone quiet.

* * *

  
Outside Kakashi suggested getting takeout. “I doubt there’s anything in my fridge,” he said, stopping in front of Teuchi’s Ramen. “If you’re hungry, we better buy something here. So, Tenzou, how about treating your elders?” The glint in his eye as he uttered the expected line was a challenge.

Yamato smirked. “Shouldn’t the Hokage provide for the precious children of his village, Kakashi- _sama_?”

“I don’t see any precious children. Just a couple of stingy old men,” Kakashi drawled, but there was amusement in his voice. Yamato grinned back at him. He’d give his senpai a hard time for a little while longer, he decided and then maybe he’d give in before it got too tedious. This was an old routine between them and it felt good to act like old times.

“I’ll pay!” Gai interrupted far too happily. “Unlike you, I’m neither old nor stingy!” He looked proud saying it and immediately started digging around for his wallet.

“You’re the oldest one here,” Kakashi said.

For a moment they both watched the oldest one among them search his wheelchair and the backpack balanced on his knees for his wallet, so he could pay their meal with his veteran’s pension or his savings.

“Never mind, I got it.” Yamato turned quickly, ducking into the restaurant, trying to quell this lightning flash of pity and anger before the others would pick up on them.

* * *

 

After his appointment to Hokage, Kakashi had moved into a house less than fifty meters from the village headquarters, the very center of Konohagakure. Yamato had been there before with a housewarming gift, a potted plant, which Kakashi named Ukki-kun the Second. There had been a party - a short one. Naruto had invited himself and dragged Sakura and Sai along. Gai-san’d shown up the way he did at least once a week, or so Kakashi had told Yamato.

It had been a nice afternoon.

The place hadn’t changed since then. Like Gai, Kakashi still had unpacked boxes standing around in every room. Although it had been more than two weeks since he’d moved in, it didn’t seem like he’d gotten settled at all.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m going to eat dinner, take a bath and go to bed,” Kakashi said. He didn’t wait for them to follow, knowing that they would. Yamato felt the pull with every step Kakashi put between him and them, but he didn’t feel Kakashi and Gai as much as on the ship. They’d clamped down on their memories, too, doing their best to keep everything inside.

Wordlessly, Kakashi went into the kitchen; they followed, Gai-san trailing behind, maneuvering his wheelchair past boxes and through narrow doorways. Kakashi pushed a chair from the table to make room for the wheelchair. He set their food down and let himself sink into a chair.

There was tension in him, like a thick fraying rope. The knowledge that if Shitano hadn’t acted alone, there would have to be consequences. Bloodshed was the last thing Kakashi wanted, but he would do what needed to be done. Yamato understood all that, would have understood even under normal circumstances. As it was, he felt the ripple of conflicting emotions under a blanket of exhaustion.

“Don’t make such a sour face!” Gai-san slapped Kakashi heartily on the shoulder. Something like a tiny explosion, then warmth spreading throughout Yamato’s body. Startled, he flinched. Kakashi’s eyes, too, were wide. Gai looked at his hand and shook it experimentally and flexed his fingers as though he had never used the limb before, as though he had no idea what it could do.

“You felt that?” Kakashi looked like he knew the answer to the question he had just asked. Yamato nodded anyway. “Perhaps we should avoid touching each other for the time being,” he said.

* * *

 

They ate, conversing amiably, although Gai did most of that. He was able to carry a whole conversation by himself. Then they bathed, one after the other. It was doable as long as the other two waited just outside the bathroom door. Kakashi went first, then Yamato, then Gai, who took the longest. Yamato pretended not hear his grunts and muffled curses, the tiny pangs of pain in his right leg. He knew Kakashi did the same.

In Kakashi’s bedroom Yamato unrolled his sleeping bag next to the bed. Gai already had his on the floor. He was making efforts to get out of his wheelchair.  
“We can switch if you want to,” Kakashi said, gesturing towards his bed. “It might be better for your leg.”

“Hah, and miss out on this? No, Rival! I prefer my sleeping bag. It feels like being on a mission!”

Kakashi shrugged. It seemed the discussion was over before it had really begun. He switched off the light and slipped into bed, allowing Gai to do whatever he needed to do under the cover of darkness. Yamato made no sound when Gai-san half-fell down next to him. He’d crawled into his sleeping bag and allowed his eyes to fall shut.

* * *

 

It’s always bright, no matter the time of day. Always, the lights are on, glaring down at them whenever they are taken out for tests. He is afraid, but trying not to show it. His body feels so heavy and stiff, like it’s all bone and no flesh, and yet the needles pierce his skin without any problem.

It’s cold. Always so cold. So many shiny metal surfaces in the room that reflect his pale image back at him like a warning. To calm himself, he plays with plastic armband around his wrist, flicking it so it spins, his number blurring into a black smear.

Soon, soon he’ll be put to sleep again and then he won’t be afraid. Not until the next test.

* * *

 

He wakes with the clap of thunder, terrified. His heart hammers in his chest, a wild staccato, almost painful. The next flash of lightning lights up the room, an eerie white edged into black shadows.

Clutching his stuffed bear doesn’t help; he knows he is alone in the room, only him and the terrible rumbling, the rattling of the window and a continuous noise like pebbles are raining down on the roof.

He whimpers, tears welling up in his eyes. There’s only one thing he can do now. He has to get there.

He slips out of bed, his feet hitting the hard wooden floor and, his arms extended to feel his way along, slowly begins to walk towards the door. Every flash of lightning makes him flinch; every distant grumble draws another whimper from his throat. He is small, everything around him looms over him menacingly. There is only one safe place.

The door creaks open and sheets rustle. He takes a few more careful steps, almost tripping over his footie pajamas. “Papa?”

Something rises in the bed at the end of the room. The next flash of lightning uncovers a man sitting up in bed and rubbing at his eyes.

“Gai?” The man asks. In one swift movement he’s out of the bed and kneeling in front of him, his big hands settling on narrow shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

“...I’m scared,” he says, feeling the shame rise to his cheeks.

“That’s okay. Come here.”

The big man picks him up and carries him over to the bed. “Do you want to sleep here tonight?”

He nods against the broad chest, burying his face in his father’s thin t-shirt. Already the fear is receding, warmth pushing in to take its place.


	6. Chapter 6

Slowly, Yamato drifted to the surface. His body was filled with a heavy, deeply pleasant sort of warmth, a feeling of complete comfort and absolute safety, the likes of which he’d never experienced before. As long as he was in his father’s arms, nothing bad could ever happen to him, he was sure of that.

His father…  A soft sigh escaped his lips. Yes, he’d wrapped his arms tightly around his papa, he was soaking up his body heat and the feelings of fear and loneliness had receded.

Yamato breathed in his father’s earthy scent. Was this how his father had always smelled? The question pierced his sleep-addled brain, jolting him back to consciousness. His father? 

Did he really smell like this? What did he look like? When was the last time he had held Yamato? Wait… He’d never--

Yamato’s eyes snapped open.

In the bright morning light, he blinked at a bronzed stretch of skin, the back of someone’s neck. Startled, Yamato pulled away from the warm body he’d been nuzzling in his sleep. It took some effort to do this, in a way it felt as though he was struggling against an invisible rope. The other person groaned softly but to his relief didn’t seem to wake up. As quickly as his sleepingbag allowed Yamato scooted further away until his back hit something hard. Kakashi-senpai’s bed.

He was in his senpai’s bedroom with Kakashi and Gai-san, Yamato remembered finally, shaking off the last cobwebs of sleep. That soothing warmth he’d felt had been Gai-san’s dream; it’d had nothing to do with him. All it had been was a disturbing side effect of that strange jutsu. The same jutsu was probably to blame for his closing the distance between himself and Gai-san in his sleep.

Sighing, Yamato rolled onto his back and was about to start unzipping his sleeping bag when he realized that what had touched him before had not in fact been one of the legs of Kakashi’s bed but the limp arm that was dangling over the edge of the mattress. Kakashi-senpai’s arm. Kakashi-senpai was lying so close to the edge, a couple more millimeters and he would come crashing down right on top of Yamato.

“Kakashi-senpai,” he hissed, voice low so he wouldn’t wake Gai-san.

Kakashi drew in a deep breath, his eyebrows twitching, then he brought his hand up to wipe at his bare face. “Tenzō,” he mumbled as he opened his eyes, “what time is it?”

It was strange to have senpai peering down at him like this with this sleepy expression on his unmasked face. Kakashi looked too vulnerable in this private setting; it made Yamato feel like an intruder.

“I don’t know, but the sun is up.”

With another groan, Kakashi rolled out of sight. “Ten to six,” came his muffled voice. “Is Gai still asleep?”

Yes, Yamato wanted to reply, but just as his lips parted to do so, the man next to him began to stir.

Gai let out a long, disturbingly sensual moan as he stretched. Grumbling, “I had the strangest dream…”, he turned around and flashed them a dazzling smile.

“Good morning, Yamato-kun! Rival!” Even with his hair sticking up in all directions, Gai-san was still Gai-san. Though Yamato had vivid memories of him on the ship, too seasick to lift his head. Back then Yamato and Aoba had taken turns dragging him up on deck and trying to keep him hydrated. But as long as Gai-san was on dry land, he was bursting with so much energy that Yamato could feel it hit him like a shot of adrenaline. It was kind of obnoxious.

“Guess we might as well get up now.” Kakashi sounded about as enthusiastic as Yamato felt. “We should go to the Anbu headquarters anyway, see if there are any new developments,” senpai added, then there was the rustle of bed sheets followed by the thump of senpai’s feet hitting the floor.

Yamato opened the zipper on his sleeping bag; next to him Gai-san did the same. While Yamato got up and stretched, Gai-san awkwardly climbed into his wheelchair. There was a twinge of pain in Yamato’s right leg, but it was over so quickly that he couldn’t be sure he hadn’t imagined it.

What he didn’t imagine, however, was the pull of chakra when Kakashi walked to the bedroom door.

“Seems like we’ll have to go to the bathroom together,” Kakashi sighed, stopping just in front of the threshold.

“Hm?” Gai-san had fished his green suit up from the floor. He wasn’t wearing anything but the pair of purple boxer briefs he’d apparently slept in. In the pale morning light a fine web of scar tissue stood out against his tanned skin. Yamato found the sight strangely distracting and had to tear his eyes away.

 It was getting warmer in the room, temperatures rising early even for a summer day.

 ***

They didn’t actually end up going into the bathroom together. Instead they did what they’d done the night before. Kakashi went in first while Gai and Yamato waited just outside the door.

With his arms folded across his chest, Yamato leaned against the wall; Gai was next to him in his wheelchair, shaving kit in his lap. An awkward silence stretched between them, which meant there was nothing to drown out the sounds from the bathroom, water splashing on water, the sound of their Hokage emptying his bladder.

Wracking his brain for something to say, Yamato glanced down at Gai, who was rubbing his stubbly cheeks in an absentminded manner.  Bedhead and stubble turned an already noticeable resemblance into a striking one. Maito Gai was the spitting image of the man from Yamato’s dream, Gai-san’s late father Maito Dai.  Why this was making Yamato so flustered he couldn’t have said. He’d never even met the man, only knew his name from the memorial stone.

“That Kakashi… what’s taking so long?” grumbled Gai-san as he shifted, lifting up one buttcheek to let out a burbling fart.

Disgusted, Yamato wrinkled his nose and glared.

Of course Gai-san met his gaze without even a hint of shame. “What? We’re all men here, Yamato-kun!” He laughed and since he couldn’t slap Yamato’s shoulder the way he used to do, Gai lightly punched his side instead.

Yamato flinched away from the warmth spreading in his side and the stink of the fart, the smell of something like rotten onions rising to his defenseless nostrils.

“Gai-san!”

As expected, Yamato’s outraged tone had no effect on Gai who merely kept grinning, the look on his face completely innocent. He was playing the fool, though Yamato had yet to figure out how much of it was actually an act.

“Urgh…” Pinching his nose shut with two fingers – mask and all – senpai stepped out of the bathroom.  He was fully dressed in his uniform, ready to go.

“Really, Gai?” His glare was only half-serious but enough to make Yamato’s shoulders sag. Senpai’s nose was a lot more sensitive than either his or Gai-san’s – a fact Gai-san was fully aware of. Hence the triumphant smirk.

“I couldn’t stop him.”

“Of course you couldn’t. Don’t worry about it, Tenzou.” Suddenly, Kakashi leaned into Yamato’s personal space to whisper theatrically, one hand cupped protectively around the empty inches between his masked mouth and Yamato’s ear.  “You know, at a certain age, they just can’t hold it in anymore.”

This had almost magical effect on Gai-san’s expression, wiping the smirk off his face and making his jaw drop.

“Oi! We’re practically the same age! And I will always be more youthful than you! I was smoking you out because you were taking so long!”

“The smell’s worse out here; I could have barricaded myself in the bathroom for the next few hours. Your tactical thinking is as bad as usual, Gai.”

“But you did come out, Rival! My plan worked perfectly! That means I win!”

“It’s not like I had a choice. I want to go to the Anbu headquarters as soon as possible to get this resolved. So stop wasting time and go get ready.”

Listening to them bicker, Yamato closed his eyes in exasperation. To think that those two were supposed to be the greatest shinobi of their generation…  And to add insult to injury, it seemed like they had forgotten he even existed.

When Gai-san finally rolled into the bathroom, Kakashi hurried to close the door behind him, but the smell lingered regardless.

***

They were leaning against the wall side by side, Yamato and his senpai, waiting for Gai-san. Yamato did his best to ignore the occasional twinges of pain in his right leg as well as the noises coming from the bathroom, and if his senpai was feeling anything at all, he didn’t let on.

In fact, Yamato had the distinct impression Kakashi was doing his best to maintain a tight lid on his emotions. His face was blank; his eyes were blank; it was as if he had erected a wall between them.

But you had to be kind of impressed, he thought. Ever since they’d woken up, he’d barely gotten anything from Kakashi-senpai and Gai-san. If they’d had the same dreams, if they’d felt anything at all, they’d done a great job suppressing their reactions.

“Na, Tenzō, what are you thinking about?” Hands in his pockets, Kakashi gave him a sidelong glance.

“This and that.” Yamato shrugged. Pain flashed through his right leg, from his toes all the way up to his thigh, like a cut from a glowing hot blade. He stood very still, riding it out. Defiant;“They won’t have made any progress back at the headquarters, you know.” Senpai’s personal Anbu guard was around  - within two hundred meters of them; Yamato could sense their chakra – and they had orders to report any new developments as soon as they occurred.

Senpai didn’t even bat an eye. “Of course not. But we might think of something when we get there.”

They did have the old man in custody, after all.

“Ibiki?”

“He’ll be waiting for us.”

Kakashi’s expression was as matter of fact as his voice.

***

When it was his turn in the bathroom, Yamato brushed his teeth and dressed quickly. Even as he splashed water into his face, he could feel the pull of chakra from outside.

Muffled by the door he heard Senpai telling Gai-san to wait.

In the mirror Yamato met his own annoyed gaze and sighed.


End file.
